Catcher in the Rye

From the Outside, Looking In

Despite the debate that may wage on regarding the status to be afforded J. D. Salinger's writings, the author's books have not quietly faded into obscurity. Although published almost a half-century ago, the author's most famous work, Catcher in the Rye, enjoys almost as healthy and devoted a following today as the book did when it was first published. Because of a self-imposed exile that began almost at the same time the Salinger's career was just taking off, much of the substance of the writer's life--his thoughts, ideals, writing objectives--remain shrouded in mystery. The few writings Salinger did offer up for public consumption, though, provide his audience cryptic clues into his inner most thoughts and psyche. The predominant figures in the author's fiction are societal outcasts, struggling to understand and accept the values of the world in which they live. As a result of their conflict, Salinger's main characters, and particularly the main character of Catcher in the Rye--Holden Caulfield--come to bear such labels as "mentally disturbed," "insane rebels," or "trouble makers." It is society as a whole, and not Salinger's characters; however that is twisted for accepting the tortured, hypocritical notions that seem to dominate religion, education and politics.

Given the attention and notoriety that J. D. Salinger's books continue to receive up and until the present day, it is a wonder that the author has done little for over four decades to bring notice to himself or his literary works. Instead, Salinger has attempted to shield himself as well his literary motives by taking up an almost hermit-like existence. Despite his elaborate efforts to hide behind a shadowy, elusive persona, J. D. Salinger has publicly bared his innermost thoughts for all to see through the dialogue of his fictional characters. Perhaps the reason the author has become such a recluse is because it is only by withdrawing from society that Salinger has been able to resolve his personal conflicts with the workings and objectives of the society in which he lives.

Take religion for example. If his writings truly do offer some insight into the private thoughts and beliefs of the author, J. D. Salinger is a God-fearing man who has the utmost respect for his Creator. It is not the reverence of a divine being that causes Salinger difficulty; it is the mind-numbing customs and practices that cause parishioners to lose focus on the basic reason they engage in religious worship that compels the writer to speak out. The formal practice of religion at times places a greater emphasis on conformance with rituals than it does on fostering a better understanding and appreciation of the basic notions upon which a religion is based. In Salinger's mind, some religious practices have run so far afield of the original premise upon which the religion was based that he questions whether the customs today can even loosely be tied to actual religious worship.

Salinger's most noteworthy character, Holden Caulfield, struggles with how society has lost sight of the foundations upon which Christianity was organized. The setting for Salinger's novel, Catcher in the Rye, is the Christmas season in New York City. Christmas--the time-honored tradition by which Christians pause to reflect on the birth of their Savior--had been transformed into a vulgar procession of lights, glitter and loud music. Just how far adrift people had gone in their celebration of Christmas was made clear to Caulfield when he attended a Christmas pageant at Radio City Music Hall, home of the Rockettes. Salinger is undoubtedly expressing his personal views through a monologue delivered by his lead character. In the words of Holden Caulfield:

. . . [T]hey had this Christmas thing they have at Radio City every year. All these angels start coming out of the boxes and everywhere, guys carrying crucifixes and stuff all over the place, and the whole bunch of them--thousands of them--sing "Come All Ye Faithfull" like mad. Big deal. It's supposed to be religious as hell, I know, and very pretty and all, but I can't see anything religious or pretty, for God's sake, about a bunch of actors carrying crucifixes all over the stage. . . . I said old Jesus probably would've puked if he could see it--all those fancy costumes and all (137).

Given the writer's disdain for the things some people do in the name of religion, it was not surprising to read that one of the characters refer to Holden Caulfield as "a sacrilegious atheist" (137). Even though Salinger, through the person of Holden Caulfield, seems to take a rather unflattering view of other people's religious practices, Salinger is no atheist, even though one of his most significant fictional characters, Caulfield, admits that he probably is (137). Once again, it is Salinger's distaste for the institutional practices of most religious groups, and not their underlying faith, that the writer is attempting to focus on.

In commenting on the senseless endeavors that make up the majority of most people's lives, Salinger does not limit his criticism to the institutional pursuit of religion. According to the author, the system of education has completely lost sight of what, in an ideal world, would be the goal of teaching. The pursuit of an education has, in a sense, been transformed into nothing more than a scavenger hunt whereby students seek to pad their transcripts with grades, achievement awards and diplomas. In the process, the educational system has completely lost focus of the goals for which it was theoretically created, namely, the pursuit of wisdom.

J. D. Salinger's dissatisfaction with current state of affairs in the system of education is made clear in the author's story of Holden Caulfield as told in the book, The Catcher in the Rye. Like the author himself, Caulfield had been referred to a private boarding school for his education. His school, Pencey Prep, was an institution engaged in the stated mission of "molding boys into clear-thinking young men" (2). Salinger's story of Holden Caulfield begins with the determination by Pencey Prep's administrators that the school would no longer be able to accommodate the book's principle character. Holden Caulfield